Anastasia Nightshade
by LegallyBlondeAngel
Summary: Jace, the Lightwoods, and Hodge, aren't the only ones who spent most of their whole lives in the Institute. Anastasia Nightshade moves in when she's seven after facing a tragedy. She soon grows close with all the teens, learning and training together. How does she play out in the books? And what happens when a mysterious redhead comes into the story? Read to find out!


The first thing I realize is that I'm home. I'm sitting at my dinner table, and I can smell the food mother is cooking coming from the kitchen. Soon, she brings the food out and joins me at the table. I look at the array of food she has prepared. My favorite, chicken and mac 'n cheese. Instantly I know that my father isn't going to be home for dinner. I sink lower in my chair and cross my arms.

"He's not coming, is he?" I ask mother. She looks down at her lap and sighs,

"No Ana, he won't be home for dinner." I start to tear up because I haven't seen father all day. He's been at some important meeting in Idris. Mother and I have been home all day, and she didn't want me sitting around so she started on my homeschooling. We went over the basic rules and principles of being a shadowhunter, and she showed my her runes. It sounds fun to be a shadowhunter, but I don't know if I could ever be that brave.

I wonde-

My thoughts get interrupted by a loud banging on the door.

"Jessamine! Open up! Please! Hurry!" I hear the muffled sound of my fathers voice behind the door. My mom runs to the front entrance and yanks the door open. "Let's go, we don't have much time." He says, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards me in the kitchen. "Hey angel," He kisses me on the forehead, "Mother and I love you so much. Remember that, ok?"

Confused I shake my head, "Father, what's happening? I don't understand."

Both my parents give me a look so filled with love, I'm convinced that there is no evil in the world, that is, until I hear the voice.

"ADRIAN! GIVE US WHAT YOU TOOK OR I WILL KILL YOU AND EVERYONE YOU LOVE!" There is loud pounding on the door, and then I hear the splintering of wood. "COME OUT AND PLAY ADRIAN, DON'T HIDE LIKE THE COWARD YOU ARE!"

I turn my eyes to my parents, fear evident on my face. My mother picks me up and hides me in one of our kitchen cabinets. Before leaving she turns to me and says, "Ok Anastasia, I need you to listen very closely. Under no circumstances are you allowed to open this door. Until me, your father, or someone else comes to get you, you stay right here, understand?" I nod my head, tears streaming down my face. "Stay safe my little angel." I hear her say before she closes the door.

Closing my eyes and covering my ears does little to block the sounds erupting from the other room. I hear shouts in various languages, the clang of metal on metal, and suddenly, I hear my mother scream in agony. My hand flies to my mouth as I try to keep my voice down. I hear a man laughing, and my father screaming at him. Then, I hear my father's scream. Footsteps come towards the kitchen and I don't dare move a muscle. My parent's murderer stays in the kitchen for what feels like an eternity. Finding what he must have been looking for, I hear him leave the room, and finally, leave the house.

I wait a couple minutes until I'm sure he's gone, and peek out the door of the cabinet. I see red the instant I look at the doorway to the sitting room. Slowly, I crawl out of the cramped space of the cabinet, and into the room where I heard the fight. As I enter the room, I immediately start to feel sick. It seems like the whole room is coated in red. I see both my parents lying on the floor in what looks to be pools of their own blood. I start shaking, sobbing, screaming for my parents to wake up, but they don't.  
I hear the back door open.

I wake up in a cold sweat, still shaking from the nightmare of my past. My room is the same as it always had been, and I take comfort in the familiarity of it. The washed out grey walls, stacks of books piled on top each other in my bookcase, weapons and clothes lying scattered on the floor.

Slipping out of bed, I go to the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror and groan when I see my blonde waves in the state that they're in. I guess tossing and turning in my sleep doesn't exactly make for the best morning hair. My electric blue eyes seem to stare right through me in the mirror. As if they're taunting me about my past. Everyone says I have my mother's eyes and my father's hair, and I don't know whether to thank them or punch them in the face at the reminder of what I've lost

Deciding that I'm not going to get any more sleep, I pull of some gear and head to the training room. The hallways are dark and quiet, not much different than during waking hours. Only the Lightwoods, Jace, Hodge, and I live in the Institute, so everything is pretty much always quiet. Finally arriving at the room I start warm ups. Stretching, jogging around the room, and some push-use and sit-ups. I spar a little with one of the dummies in our storage room, then I decide to do the beam. Not just a prissy little gymnastics beam, but one of the same width spanning the room and hanging over 30 feet in the air. I've always been good at balancing, and I don't have a fear of heights, so I'm usually top in the standings on the beam.

I'm in the middle of doing walking handstands on the beam when I feel the swish of an arrow past my midsection, throwing me off balance. I scream as I plummet to the floor, cursing myself for not wearing the harness, when I smack into something hard and hit the ground.

"By the angel Ana, what have you been eating?" I hear from the thing under me. Raising my head and opening my eyes I see the face that belongs to the voice. A boy with black hair and blue eyes returns my gaze, smirking.

""Alec! What if you hadn't caught me!" I yell at him.

"He stares at my quizzically. "Do you really think I wouldn't catch you?" Expression of fake hurt coming to his face.

"Oh you're so dead Lightwood," grinning, I shoot up and make my way to the sparring mat. "Last one there only gets to spar with one hand!" I scream.  
"I hear a disgruntled moan come from where I was just laying on the floor. "Nightshade, come on! At least make it fair!"  
"Never in a million years, Lightwood."

By the time 9 o'clock comes around, we are just finishing our morning training. Exhausted and sweaty from the drills and exercises we did I leave to take a shower. I place my seraph blade back in the weapons room and turn around to face Alec.

"Decent job Lightwood, a couple more practices and you could be half as good as me." I smirk as he sticks his tongue out at me. Very mature.

"Yeah," he scoffs, "keep dreaming." Wiping sweat off his forehead he starts towards the door, and I follow. The halls of the institute would be frightening to someone who hasn't lived here for most of their lives. Dark, narrow, and under-lit, they give off a kind of "don't mess with me" vibe that some shadowhunters do.

Alec walks me back to my room and I open the door, letting him in. We're sort of best friends, i guess, if you don't count that Jace is his parabatai. Most people don't know this, but Alec is gay, yeah, gay. It's completely fine, and that is why he is allowed in my room while I go to the bathroom to shower. Our relationship would seem weird to those who don't know, like Jace, but people like Isabel, who do know, accept it.

I chose my clothes and carry them to the bathroom where I close the door and lock it. Just because he's gay, doesn't mean he can see me naked. As I turn on the shower, I hear music coming from my room. Alec must have plugged in my iPod. He refuses to get one because he claims they're "too mundane," but I think they're pretty cool.

"The mirrored wall reveals my reflection staring back at me. With the same eyes, hair, and body i've grown accustomed to seeing in the mirror. My blonde hair falls just below my shoulders, and my eyes look back at me like two bright blue orbs. Of all of my characteristics, the one that seems to have changed the most is my body. When I arrived at the institute, I was still a chubby little seven year old. Now, I have a toned body with hips, and everything that was promised to come with growing older as a woman.

The shower is cold when I step in, and I sigh. Just what I need after a long training session with Alec of all people. While Jace is the best fighter of all of us, Alec is the best drill sergeant. He pushes us all and himself to do what's necessary to learn to fight. I finish quickly and dry off. Pulling my clothes on and brushing my hair at the same time, I manage to get ready at record speed and swiftly exit the bathroom. As always, Alec is exactly where I left him, although he isn't as sweaty.

"Oh finally, the princess is done pampering, and is ready to feast!" He exclaims, the sarcasm rolling off his tongue with ease.

I roll my eyes. "C'mon Lightwood, let's hope Isabel didn't make breakfast." His eyes widen when he realizes the risk we might face. I laugh, "kidding dude, Izzy and I made plans to go to Taki's this morning, and you and Jace are both cordially invited."

"Invited to what?" A deep voice sounds from the doorway. I jump and spin around, ready to face an attacker. When I see that Jace is leaning against the doorframe, one arm supporting his body, and the other at his side, I narrow my eyes."

"Breakfast at Taki's, you're buying." Ah, sweet revenge. Jace roll his eyes, his golden irises disappearing in his head for less than a second. He turns and we all make our way to the front door, where we greet Izzy. Once we're all ready, we head to Taki's./p  
p style="text-align: left;"The rest of the day passes in a blur. After breakfast we get back to the institute and immediately go into lessons. Battle strategy, Demonology, the use of plants and herbs, blah, blah, blah. We train again afterwards, and Isabel and I crush the boys in a balancing game on the beam. Then it's me and Izzy, and I triumph. My prize is getting to me the bait at the club we're going to tonight to catch a demon. Normally we just get the job done, but I can feel that something is going to change tonight.


End file.
